Florence itself has a charm that makes it a perfect location for any romantic date: just stroll and let yourself be carried away by the enchanted atmosphere in which every alley of the center is wrapped, the gardens of the Fortress, the riversides at sunset. The buildings, streets and main squares are all on a human scale, almost intimate even in a crowd, and feeling in love in these scenarios is almost natural.
You remember the scene from the movie The Cyclone? Pieraccioni walks with his flamenco dancer looking for a right place to kiss and at every scene, every place seems the right one. For them, however, it is not and they continue to grind kilometers, showing the spectators known and unpublished glimpses of Florence. Here are where I would have stopped if I had been in them.
Il Rose Garden is a fairy tale cutout with view overview in the San Niccolò district. This small terraced green space hides original treasures and among the sinuous statues of Folon and the rose gardens, you can enjoy a romantic break, enjoying Florence from above. Walking in nature, continuing between ponds and fountains, up to the Japanese garden, will relax you before a dinner for two, perhaps right in the neighborhood. Admission is free, but keep an eye on the clock, though, as the garden closes around 17pm this season.
Guidi House instead it is unknown to Italian tourists, while it is a place of worship for all English romantics. It is located in Piazza San Felicita and is the love nest of the poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, who fled England after a secret marriage. In Florence they saw the ideal city, where they could live their feelings in the sunlight and right here they wrote some splendid love poems. In their apartment the original furniture has been recreated and it seems to be in a truly lived-in house. From April to November, it is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from the 15 18.
Piazza Santo Spirito it is one of my favorite squares in the Oltrarno. At night it is full of people for the many clubs and restaurants that overlook the square; during the day it doesn't even seem to be in Florence and on Sunday afternoon a delightful antiques market colors the atmosphere: the rhythms seem slow, almost from village life and this is precisely the most romantic moment of Santo Spirito. The church is the most bare in the whole city, but it has a class of its own that makes it a unique backdrop for a special kiss.
Il Cinema - Odeon theater is one of the historic cinemas of the city and shaking hands during the screening of a film has something passionate about it that you cannot explain. The cinema was inaugurated in 1922 and has been able to combine functionality with unparalleled elegance: no detail is left to chance, from the very comfortable sound-absorbing armchairs to the columns inlaid in the neoclassical way, from the three muses in gold to the polychrome glass dome. Here the modan events of the Florentine show are celebrated, but the programming of the films is within everyone's reach: you will feel like you are experiencing a retro love.
Old Bridge it goes without saying, I admit. Go there at sunset and tell me if it does not have all the rights to be in this ranking. Here too the love locks have been a tradition, cut short by a municipal ordinance, but the most romantic thing of all is the view. Usually, on weekend evenings, there are always street singers and that's when I prefer the bridge: you sit on the ground crouched to listen to a song, without the horde of tourists that fill the bridge during the day.
Pieraccioni and his dancer eventually stopped in a junkyard: Florence can be romantic even so.
